The
floor plan of the Tabernacle reveals that the structure was oblong with
three zones of holiness. In ascending order, the three zones were
(1) the outer court yard often called the court of the congregation,
(2)
the holy place, and (3) the holy of holies.

This
floor plan shows that the Tabernacle - which was 50 cubits by 100
cubits
- could be divided into two equal squares. The first zone of
holiness
- the outer courtyard - lie in the first square with the altar of
sacrifice
as the central sacred furnishing. The second and third zone of
holiness
- the holy place and holy of holies - lay in the second square with the
ark of the covenant at the center of the
square. (Nahum
M. Sarna, Exodus [JPS Torah
Commentary])

The courtyard surrounded the
santuary
which was a tent. The Hebrew word for this structure is sometimes
called the ohel moed meaning "tent of meeting." It was an
unusal tent made of boards covered with gold over which was laid a
number
of coverings. The following show how tent of meeting was
structured.

The
most important sacred furnishing was the ark of the covenant placed in
the Holy of Holies. According to the biblical account, the ark
was
a box with a covering. On the covering were two cherubs.
What
were cherubs? The following are pictures of cherubs which have
been
found in archaeological sites in the Middle East.

Cherub
from the doorway of Ashurnasirpal's palace in Assyria. Cherubs
were
often used as gaurdians as in this case. Two cherubs standing as
guardians formed the entry way into the palace (the cherubs were the
foundation
of the arch that formed the entrance.) Dates about 9th century
B.C. (James Pritchard, Ancient
Near Eastern
Pictures
Relating to the Old Testament)

This
is King Ahriam's sacrcophagus. Notice that the King is portrayed
sitting on his cherub throne (left). Dated about 13th century
B.C. (James Pritchard, Ancient
Near Eastern
Pictures
Relating to the Old Testament)

This
is a celebration of victory with feasting and music before a Canaanite
king. This piece of carved ivory was found in Megiddo in northern
Israel and dates about 1350-1150 B.C. (James
Pritchard, Ancient Near Eastern Pictures Relating to the Old
Testament)

Notice
the throne upon which King Nebuchadnezer sits in this painting found in
the LDS Salt Lake Temple visitor center.

So
what was the Ark of the Covenant? It was the throne of God.
What did it look like. We can only guess. But using the
following
ancient artifacts as a guide, I have drawn a possible depiction of the
Ark of the Covenant.

The
god Anubis as a jackal lying on a funerary chest, fromthe tomb of
Tut-ankh-Amon
at Thebes (about 1361-1355 B.C.). Note that a god is pictured as
sitting on an ark. This is what the Ark of the Covenant is
portraying. (James Pritchard, Ancient
Near Eastern
Pictures
Relating to the Old Testament)

Using
both the ark from King Tut's tomb and the cherubim from the "Cherubim
guarding
a tree of life", this is my rendition of the Ark of the Covenant using
Exodus 25:10-22 in mind.

The
Holy Place

Three
sacred furnishings were located in the Holy Place. The altar of
incense
was placed before the veil. The Menorah or candelabra was placed
on the north side while the table of shewbread (Heb. "bread that was
always
present") was located on the south side.